The Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM)
ASEM is a process of dialogue and cooperation between Asian and European countries, both at technical and political leadership levels. It is based on three pillars: political, economic and cultural. This cooperation, launched in 1996, aims at strengthening relations between the two regions on the basis of mutual respect and equal partnership.
ASEM consists of 53 partners: 30 European and 21 Asian countries, the European Union and the ASEAN Secretariat. The 27 EU Members, as well as Norway and Switzerland, make up the European group. The Asian group is composed of 21 countries, namely the 10 ASEAN Member States (Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei, Indonesia, Philippines, Vietnam) alongside China, Mongolia, Kazakhstan, Japan, South Korea, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Russia, Australia and New Zealand.
The Ministerial Meetings and Summits are held every two years. The 13th ASEM Foreign Ministers’ Meeting – “Strengthening Partnership for Peace and Sustainable Development” – was held in Nay Pyi Taw, Myanmar (20-21.11.7). Greece was represented by Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs, I. Amanatidis. The 12th ASEM Foreign Ministers’ Meeting took place in Luxembourg on 5-6 November 2015 under the theme “Working Together for a Sustainable and Secure Future”. Greece was represented by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Ν. Kotzias. Within this framework, an important innovation was the organization, for the first time, of the Young Leaders Conference, which was held in the margins of the Meeting, under the auspices of the Asia-Europe Foundation (ASEF).
Over the past four years, ASEM partners have demonstrated an increasing interest in promoting the concept of connectivity as a key element in the strengthening of Asia-Europe relations. In this context, particular emphasis was placed on the need to improve existing communication and infrastructure networks, to highlight the important role of maritime routes, to establish a relevant security regime for the unhindered trade between Asia and Europe, as well as to promote institutional connectivity and intensify contacts between the populations of the two continents.
On 15-16 July 2016, the 11th ASEM Summit was held in Ulan Bator (Mongolia), marking the twentieth anniversary of ASEM creation and operation. Greece was represented by the Minister of Foreign Affairs.
The 12th ASEM Summit will be held in Brussels on 18-19 October 2018 and the 14th ASEM Foreign Ministers’ Meeting will take place in Spain in 2019.
It is worth noting that ASEM members represent 62.5% of the world's population and 57% of the global GDP. In addition, the volume of trade between the EU (including Norway and Switzerland) and Asian ASEM countries exceeded 1.37 trillion Euros in 2012.
The only permanent institution operating within the framework of ASEM, namely in its third pillar, is the Asia-Europe Foundation (ASEF). The ASEF is based in Singapore and is funded by the Member States on a voluntary basis. Its main objective is to promote contacts among civil society actors. ASEM comprises, as previously mentioned, two geographical groups: the European and the Asian one. The coordination role within the European group is assumed by the European External Action Service (EEAS) alongside the country holding the six-month Presidency of the Council of the EU, whereas in the Asian group the two coordinating countries are selected by the group itself on an annual basis. The Secretary-General of ASEAN is invited to the ASEM meetings.
ASEM's current operating rules were codified in the course of the Asia-Europe Cooperation Forum (AECF 2000). According to these rules, countries aspiring to accession must submit a request to one of the groups, which decides whether or not to accept the country in question. Following a favourable opinion of the group, the final decision is taken by consensus at the Summit. Kazakhstan and Croatia became official members at the ASEM Summit held in Milan in October 2014.
The Asia-Europe Parliamentary Partnership (ASEP) is part of the ASEM process and contributes to the overall cooperation between the two parties. It aims at establishing contacts among representatives of the Parliaments from both continents with the purpose of further promoting relations between European and Asian countries. ASEP meetings are held biannually, alternately in Europe and Asia, prior to the ASEM Summits.
